Friday, 29 June 2012

'KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda said on Wednesday it was banning 38 non-governmental organisations it accuses of promoting homosexuality and recruiting children.

Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda, along with more than 30 other countries in Africa, and activists say few Africans are openly gay, fearing imprisonment, violence and losing their jobs.

Ethics Minister Simon Lokodo told Reuters the organisations being targeted were receiving support from abroad for Uganda's homosexuals and accused gays and lesbians of "recruiting" young children in the country into homosexuality...

JEWISH and Muslim groups in Germany condemned a court ruling yesterday that deemed circumcision to be equivalent to grievous bodily harm. The court in Cologne declared that the procedure violated a child's "fundamental right to bodily integrity". Religious groups claimed the ruling could lead to "circumcision tourism". The court said the right of the child outweighed that of parents in what legal experts said could be a landmark case...

Thursday, 28 June 2012

As Senegal prepares to send troops to Mali as part of a regional stabilisation force, a new report indicates al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is targeting the West African state.
Dakar daily Le Quotidien reported June 21st that "intelligence services have learned of specific threats of attacks on Senegal by this armed Islamist organisation which claims to represent al-Qaeda. The terrorist group, which operates in the Maghreb and Sahel regions, including Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, now wants to add Senegal to the list of countries it fights in."

Monday, 25 June 2012

"The flow of aid from Europe to the world's poorest countries fell by €700m in 2011, the first drop for almost a decade as the crisis in the single currency caused 14 member states to cut development assistance..."

Friday, 22 June 2012

Cell phones have the power to make this process significantly more efficient -- for both the organization and the affected communities. With mobile money transfer (m-transfer) technology, cash vouchers can be delivered instantly by phone and turned into cash by visiting a local mobile phone agent. This means that the organization does not have to go through the logistics of moving from village to village to hand out cash, potentially compromising the security of their staff and the people coming to receive it. It also means that community members no longer have to travel to a central distribution point, which often means leaving children and work at home.

Concern has successfully implemented m-transfer programs during previous food crises in Niger and Kenya. In April 2010, Concern launched the first m-transfer program in French-speaking Africa with a leading mobile provider, Zain (now Airtel Niger). In response to annual hunger gaps, the program delivered approximately $38 for three months and $47 for two months to vulnerable households across 116 villages using Zain's m-transfer service, ZAP. In a study conducted with Tufts University, Concern then measured how the money was being used and the household wellbeing of those receiving cash via m-transfer against those receiving it manually...

As Aung San Suu Kyi visits the UK for the first time in 24 years, religious studies teacher Andrew Jones on how Burma's opposition leader can inspire your pupils

As a religious studies teacher, I feel that empathy is an essential skill for all students. Learning to empathise will better equip students to interpret the experiences of others, especially when others' attitudes, beliefs and ways of thinking are alien to their own. It also allows for better intercultural understanding and community cohesion between people of different economic, cultural and religious backgrounds.

The EC reported that hundreds of thousands of people are trafficked — kidnapped — in the EU every year. Women and men, boys and girls, invariably poor and vulnerable, are traded for sexual or labour exploitation, removal of organs, begging, domestic service, forced marriage, illegal adoption or other abuses.

Wednesday, 20 June 2012

The media create a damaging stereotype, portraying black youths as criminally minded underachievers. This all fits in with little-reported research published this year, which showed huge disparities in how black boys are reported compared with others.

OPINION: On World Refugee Day, the UNHCR urges Ireland to update an asylum procedure that was adopted as a temporary measure six years ago
EACH YEAR on World Refugee Day, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees shines a light on the courage and perseverance of refugees around the world. Tragically, 2011 was a record year for forced displacement across borders, with more people becoming refugees than at any time since 2000.

Recent stories about China's growing interest in Africa are worth commenting on. For China, Africa is a source of cheap coal and oil, two vitally important resources for its energy needs. As for African states, China is the ideal commercial partner that seldom slaps special political pre-conditions upon its readily available suppliers, and regularly gives the continent diplomatic backing. ...

SOME had come looking for work and found love as well. Others had found love over the internet and crossed the ocean to settle in Ireland. How all of the 4,000 people who officially became Ireland's newest citizens yesterday came to set foot on Irish shores may have varied. Yet, they all had something in common, they had already become just a little bit Irish.

Monday, 11 June 2012

GENERATION EMIGRATION: This year’s journalism class at the University of Limerick began their course in 2008. Now, as they prepare to graduate, the students explain their plans for the future, and whether they will emigrate or remain at home

THE DANGEROUS folly of attempting to ban the public wearing of the veil has been highlighted by events in recent days in Belgium. The arrest of a young woman last week for breaching the country’s ban on the full face veil predictably provoked a riot, followed on Tuesday by an inflammatory intervention by the Flemish nationalist far right, certain to spark further violence. Vlaams Belang, a party with neo-Nazi roots, has offered a €250 reward to anyone who reports a veiled woman to the police.

Friday, 8 June 2012

Forced marriage is “little more than slavery”, British prime minister David Cameron said as his government announced plans to make it a criminal offence.
Parents who force their children into a marriage will face jail in what Mr Cameron said was a “clear and strong message” that the practice would not be tolerated.

CONSISTENT POVERTY is higher among non-EU nationals living in Ireland than Irish nationals a report by the Economic and Social Research Institute has found.
The Annual Monitoring Report on Integration 2011, published today, found that consistent poverty was almost twice as high among non-EU nationals than among Irish people living in Ireland.

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Ferry Pilot: Hold a Commercial Pilot's License with Land, Sea & Instrument ratings. I also hold a Flight Instructor's Rating and enjoy taking on part-time work ferrying light aircraft around Europe and North Africa a great hobby and a part-time job I love !

Independent Researcher: Exploring how sustainable microfinance initiatives can help break the poverty cycle, enhance microeconomic stability and be an integral part of a broader conflict prevention strategy for parts of the Developing World.

Brief Profile:Started my career with the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) where I served seventeen years in various capacities. I am a graduate from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK, School of Infantry and Tactics in both the USA and Pakistan and attended Staff College in Nigeria. I have a diploma in African Strategic Studies from Nasser Higher Military Academy in Cairo, Egypt and hold a MA in International Security and Conflict Studies from Dublin City University. I have also recently completed a Professional Diploma in Financial Advice to provide further insight into the world of banking and finance with a view to exploring how sustainable microfinance initiatives can help break the poverty cycle, enhance microeconomic stability and be an integral part of a broader conflict prevention strategy in the Developing World especially Africa.

While serving with the GAF I had the opportunity to work with the AU Mission in Sudan, the UN Assistance Mission in Sierra Leone and the ECOWAS Peacekeeping Force in Guinea Bissau. The experience enlightened me to the intricacies of the wars which has proved invaluable to my understanding of causes of conflict and exposed me to ways that help prevent, resolve and transform conflict effectively.

Frequent trips to Africa keeps me in touch with the painful reality on the Continent which motivates me to remain focused on dedicated research for innovative ideas. I remain deeply concerned for the displaced and vulnerable and continue to bring my experience, working in conflict affected areas of Africa, to bear and contribute where appropriate to create lasting and positive change in the lives of the vulnerable.